1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an airbag device for a front passenger seat that is adapted to be mounted on an instrument panel in front of the front passenger seat of a vehicle and includes an airbag which is housed in a housing in a folded-up configuration and is deployable rearward for protecting a passenger when fed with an inflation gas.
2. Description of Related Art
As disclosed in JP H02-303951A and JP H08-324373A, a known airbag device for a front passenger seat includes an airbag which includes a main body for covering the front of a front seat passenger and a protruding section that protrudes rearward from the left or right end region of the rear end region of the main body.
In the conventional airbag device for a front passenger seat, the protruding section is provided for covering the front area of the front seat passenger more broadly in a diagonal direction at airbag deployment. However, the protruding section is an inflatable portion having a gas communication with the main body and is inflatable spherically in a protruding, stepped fashion on the main body. This protruding section may sometimes hit a passenger's head locally when it moves diagonally forward in such an event as an oblique collision, offset collision or the like, which is not a desirable cushioning fashion.